Construction of ships.



Patented Aug. 31, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

CBLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH (IO-.WASNINOTON. D. C.

G. R. SCHUELER.

CONSTRUCTION OF SHIPS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 15. 1915.

1,15%,Q9. Patented Aug. 31, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0,, WASHINGTON, D. c.

ooivsrnucriolv or SHIPS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. ca, 1915.

Application filed March 15, 1915. Serial-No. 14,349.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE RICHARD SGI-IUELER, a citizen of the United States, but at present residing at Kingston-upon-Hull, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in or in connection with the Construction of Ships; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in or in connection with the construction of ships, and more particularly of large oceangoing ships, or linersas they are very generally called, which are intended to carry a large number of passengers, and the object of my invention is to so construct such ships that they will be practicallylunsinkable.

In carrying out my invention, I construct the interior of the ship, or a suitably large portion of the same, in such a way that it is composed of, or is provided with a series, or a number of series of air pookets, chambers or sub-divisions, the means of entrance to and exit from which are from below, whereby, in case of damage being done to the hull of the ship, water can only fill those chambers or sub-divisions actually damaged, it.

being prevented from rising in the other chambers or sub-divisions to any material extent owing to the air therein.

-As an example of one mode of carrying my invention into effect, I arrange the cabins, state-rooms and other apartments of the ship in units or groups, the admission to each chamber or sub-division being by means of a staircase or the equivalent leading into the bottom of the chamber or subdivision comprising the group of cabins or the like, each chamber or sub-division should water enter the ship and rise to the level of the chamber or sub-division, forming a closed air-tight pocket of the ship so far as such chamber or sub-division is y concerned. That is to say, the upper part of a chamber or subdivision which comprises say for example, a series of cabins, always contains, unless broken up or fractured, sufficient air to prevent water from rising therein through the opening in the form of the staircase or the like by which access is obtained to such chamber or subdivision,

beyond a very limited level, the quantity of water which could enter the chamber or subdivisionnot being suflicient to cause drowning of the occupant or occupants, thespace containing air remaining above the levelof the water which might happen to enter allowing ample space for breathing and for free movement of the occupant or occupants.

' The staircase leading up to each chamber or sub-division is connected with a corridor or passage running by preference in a longitudinal direction, said staircases being closed at the sides to prevent air escaping at the sides thereof, and each main corridor or passage has a staircase or the equivalent, or more than one, leading to the deck or decksabove and to the deck or decks below, with the exception of the lowest corridor or passage which has a staircase or the equivalent leading to the deck or decks above only, thereby allowing of easy access to-the upper or top deck from all the corridors or passages and. consequently from all the chamhers or sub-divisions.

Each of the chambers or sub-divisions is connected with any suitable sowrceof air supply, as for instance, by a pipe or pipes connected with an air pump suitably situated but preferably on the upper deck of the ship whereby in case ofnecessity fresh air can be pumped into each chamber or subdivision, the air so supplied not only providing a fresh supply of air for the occupants of thechambers or sub-divisions, but being, if desired, employed for driving the water out of the chambers or sub-divisions should it enter the same. Consequently by injecting air into the chambers or subdivisions, the water can be kept down or driven entirely out of the chambers or sub-divisions.

Having thus stated broadly the object and nature of my said invention,I will now proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying two sheets of drawings which illustrate, by way of example only, my invention applied to the cabins or like apartments of a large ship, Figure 1 of which drawings represents a cross section of part of a ship provided with my improvements, the upper structures of the ship being omitted. 2 is a longitudinal view of a portion of the ship taken on the line 12 of Fig. 1; Fi g. 3 is a plan view taken on the line 34 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4E isatransverse section through one of the main corridors showing the steps down to the corridor and the steps therefrom leading up to the corridors in which are the cabins or the like to which access is had from such main corridor. Fig. l is drawn to a larger scale than the preceding figures.

Referring to the drawings, A, A A A indicate four main corridors or passages one E Efl-E, E and E are eight staircases leading from the main corridors or passages A, A A A 1 to the corridors or passages B and G running parallel with such main corridors or passages, the doors by which ad emission to the cabins or apartments is obtain'ed'being in the corridors or passages B and C. It will thus be seen that to reach the cabins or apartments in the corridors or passages B and G parallel with the corridor A from the upper deck, a person would have to go down the main staircase D to the corridor or passage A and then, up one of the shortstaircases E or E to the corridor B .or G depending upon which of these corridors or passages the cabin or apartment 'he required to reach is situated in. Similarly if hedesired to reach a cabin or apartment in either of the corridors or passages B, C parallel with the main corridor or passage, A he would go down the main staircaseD to the main corridor or passage A and" then up one of the short staircases E or E leading to the corridors or passages B or, 0 parallel with the main corridor A depending upon which of these corridors or passages B, C'the cabin or apartment he required to reach is situated in.

The cabins or apartments are arrangedin groups each of which forms a sub-division of the ship, each group or'sub-division being shown as comprising nine cabins or apartments marked 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 in Fig. 3, theftransverse walls, indicated by the letter F, of each sub-division, extending across the corridors or passages B and G from which access is had to the cabins or apartments in such sub-division, whereby each corridor or passage B and C is divided intoja number of inclosed portions to which access" can only be had by means of the side staircases leading upwardly from the main corridors or'passages, a separate side staircase such as E, E being provided for each portion'ofeach corridor or passage B, G. 'G indicates an air pipe connected with a suitable-source of air supply which may be an airpump or the likexsitua'ted on the upper deck or other suitable part of the ship, and g, g are branches of such pipe which deliver the air into the corridors or passages B and C preferably under the staircases leading from the main corridors or passages to the said corridors or passages B and C.

H indicates the doors of the cabins or apartments.

My improvements are applicable to practically all parts of the ship, but especially to the storage compartments, state-rooms, cabins and the like, the application to which or to a material part of which would be sufficient to provide the necessary air space to prevent the ship from sinking in case of collision, or of the ship being damaged in such a way. that water would be liable to enter the ship.

With my improvements in the construction of the interior of ships, should any portion of the shell of the ship be damaged, say for instance as a result of a collision with another ship, or with an iceberg, wreckage or the like, only those air-tight sub-divisions which are actually ruptured will fill with water. Each undamaged subdivision would contain suflicient air to prevent water from rising therein beyond a very limited level, consequently as the inte'riorof the ship is composed of several series of these sub-divisions, the quantity of water which would enter these sub-divisions would be very small indeed compared with the quantity of air compressed in the subdivisions by the water admitted. Consequently not only would the ship be sufficiently buoyant to float (assuming of course that the port. holes were closed, a precaution as will be understood which would naturally be taken) but there would be suflicient air in each chamber or sub-division of the ship to keep the occupants therein alive. The occupants of the compartments are rescued in any convenient way, upon beaching the ship, or otherwise preventing it from sinking. My improvements possess the further advantage that they will have the eflect of considerably reducing the liability of fire spreading throughout the ship should one break out.

I claim ,1. A ship provided with compartments arranged in groups upon the same floor level, each group having a separate entrance from below its floor level, whereby air is retained in the compartments comprised in said group when the compartments of another and similar group are flooded.

2. A ship provided with compartments arranged in groups upon the same floor level, each group having a separate entrance from below its floor level, whereby air is re tained in the compartments comprised in said group when the compartments of another and similar group are flooded, and

means for forcing air into each group of compartments independently of the other groups.

3. A ship provided with a main corridor, an auxiliary corridor arranged above the level of the top of the main corridor and communicating with it by a passageway, and compartments arranged in a group at the floor level of the auxiliary corridor and having their entrances through it.

4. A ship provided with a main corridor, auxiliary corridors arranged above the level of the top of the main corridor and each communicating with it by a separate passageway, and compartments arranged in groups on the same floor level as the auxiliary corridors and communicating with them. a

5. A ship provided with a series of main corridors arranged one above another, and each provided with a separate passage having its entrance arranged above the level of the top of the uppermost main corridor, auxiliary corridors arranged on the same floor levels as the main corridors, each auxiliary corridor being provided with an entrance passage which connects it with the main corridor of the floor next below it in the series, and compartments arranged in groups and communicating with the auxiliary corridors 0n the same floor levels with them.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE RICHARD SCHUELER. Witnesses:

LOUIS E. SHIPPAX, FRED. H. RHODES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. p 

